Day 15 ~ “Tan-Renga Poem” for “30 Poems in 30 Days” #NationalPoetryMonth

Day 15 ~ “Tan-Renga Poem” for “30 Poems in 30 Days” #NationalPoetryMonth

OK, with all this “social distancing” and staying home – we have relied heavily on social media and electronics to stay connected. Let’s do that today because you will need a partner for this – if you have family members in the home – that’s easily done but if you currently live alone, you will need to call, text, facetime, whatever with another person to create this otherwise quick and easy poem.

I’ve only used it once before in our challenge – about 3 years ago – so let’s give it another shot today. It’s actually fast and fun.

The “Tan-Renga,” is a Japanese poetry form of collaboration. AND it has a very specific pattern you will need to follow. .

Your partner in writing this poem can be a spouse, a child, a neighbor, a friend – just someone other than yourself needs to help write this poem.

This is basically a Tanka poem (which we have yet to try this year) BUT with one catch ~ one person writes the first three lines and the second person finishes off the poem with the last two lines, almost as if in response to your first three lines.

The name, “Tan-Renga” (from Japanese) translates as "short linked poem" or "short connecting poem." 

Rhyming doesn’t matter – not needed but it’s fine if your poem rhymes.

The biggest concern is the number of syllables per line. 

So, working with someone, the FIRST person writes the FIRST THREE lines using the number of syllables outlined below and the SECOND person writes the LAST TWO lines, again, using the number of syllables outlined below:

Line 1 = 5 syllables     (1^st person writes)

Line 2 = 7 syllables     (1^st person writes)

Line 3 = 5 syllables     (1^st person writes)

Line 4 = 7 syllables     (2^nd person writes)

Line 5 = 7 syllables     (2^nd person writes)

So, my husband, Jim, and I wrote this particular Tan-Renga together three years ago – it works fine as a sample. I wrote the first three lines and he responded with the last two lines and together we came up with this:

Our life together

Has had a few learning curves

The highs and the lows

Giving, growing, and loving

We have become companions

© 2017 by Stephanie and Jim Abney

Give it a shot – Whatcha’ got?

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they post them. Thanks so much!

Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work.